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2 Sheets-Sheet 1 (No Model.)

J. A. CHAPMAN.

. SLEIGH. No. 283,325. Patented Aug. 14, 1883.

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(No Model.) '2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. CHAPMAN.

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No. 283,325. Patented Aug. 14, 1883.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

J OHN ALBERT CHAPMAN, OF MILWAUKEE, \VISGONSDT, ASSIGNOR TO THE NORTH-WESTERN SLEIGH COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SLEIGH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 283,325, dated .August lt, 1883.

Application filed November 24. 188:2. (N model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. CHAPMAN, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sleighs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to sleighs; and it consists in certain improvements in the construction thereof, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

The objects of my invention are, first, to produce a clash-board that will not check or split when exp osed to the weather or subjected to unusual strain; second, that will avoid the necessity of the employment of strengtheningbraces; third, to facilitate packing for shipment to places at a distance,- fourth, to lessen the cost of construction; I

In the accompanying drawings, like letters refer to the same parts in the several figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my new sleigh. Fig. 2 is alike view of one of the runners detached. .Fig. 3 is a vertical medial cross-section of the dash-board. side elevation, on an enlargedscale, of the front knee, D; and Fig. 5,is a rear elevation of my improved sleigh with the runners attached, ready for use.

A is the body of my improved sleigh.

B is the dash, made of thin layers or sheets of wood cemented together, with the grain of each crossing that of the contiguous sheets, the

grain of the outer sheets extending in a vertical direction, and the whole pressed into the double curve or S shape shown in Fig. 3. It is made distinct from the body of the sleigh, and is readily detachable therefromwithout injury to the same, even after it has been finished, by simply removing the bolts t i, by which it is secured to the body. I have found that by giving it the peculiar curve s'hown'in the drawings, instead of making it straight, a laminated dash is made, much stronger and less Fig. 4 is a the runners G.

liable to warp, and the layers are-thus so rested together that they cannot spring apart, while the braces or ribs used with sleigh-dashes in ordinary use are rendered unnecessary.

E E are the beams, beveled off at the ends to form a jointwith the limbs F F, to the outer 5 end of which the knees are secured in the usual way.

0 C are knees of the usual construction, and provided with the iron braces b I) and c c, and the short horizontal arms F F, by means of '60 which they are attached to the beams E E. When the runners G G are attached to the 7 body A by bolting the arms F F to the beams E E, a pair of simple beams is in effect produced, with seams extending from the upper edges of their ends diagonally through the same toward the center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. By this construction of the knees the runners may be readily attached to or detached from the body of the sleigh afterthe same has been finished, by inserting or removing the bolts which securethc arms F Fto the beams EE; and for the purposes of shipping they may be detached from the body and packed together in a much smaller space than is re- 7 5 quired for those made inseparable from the body.

D D are inverted-V-shaped knees composed of the wooden limbs a a, secured to the runners G by the strips of unforged band-iron c c and f f, which are bolted or riveted to the limbs a a, and bent at the lower ends into horizontal feet, which are punched and bolted to The strips f f line the inner sides of the limbs a a, and extend the entire length of the same, as shown in Fig. t, there i by strengthening the knees laterally and forming at the ends a firm attachment for the pieces c and g. The knees D D are firmly secured to the beams or arms F F by means of 0 a single bolt passing through the same and the iron strips 9 g, which are secured to the outside of the upper end of the knees and extend above the same, so "as to include the beam or arm F. The knees D are braced laterally by 5 thestrips d (Z, attached at one end to the inner sides of the limbs a; a, and at the other end to the beams E, or to the inner end of the arms F.

- a strong knee is 0 a much stiffer and stronger dash is By the method of construction ust described a forge, and consequently at a comparatively small cost, as the irons are simply cut, bent, and punched.

I do not wish to confine myself to the exact arrangement of the knee shown in the drawings. I may use two or more knees, all of one of the kinds represented, according to the size and style of sleigh I wish to produce.

I am aware that a patent has been granted to Perkins, No. 221,097, dated October '28, 1879, for a wagon-body, whereby the veneers are arranged so that the grain of the wood of one layer crosses that of the layer adjacent thereto. I do not broadly claim so arranging the veneers that the respective grains cross each other. It will, however, be observed on reference to such patent that the wagon-body is of rectangular form; that the specific arrangement of the veneers described by me, by which the grain of the two outer layers extends vertically and the grain of the inner layer horizontally,

is neither described, shown, nor referred to in the specification of said patent. I have found in practice that the arrangement described by me results in a very superior product to that where the grain of the outer layers does not ex tend vertically, as by so arranging the veneers obtained produced without the use" of than that where the grain of the outer layers extends horizontally.

I am not aware of any such an arrangement as described and claimed by me prior to my invention thereof. Neither am I aware that my dash has been heretofore constructed of veneers arranged and pressed into the form described and claimed by me.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim therein is i 1. As a new article of manufacture, a frameless sleigh-dash composed of thin layers of wood cemented together, substantially as set forth.

2. A sleigh having body A, detachable dash B, knees 0, having iron braces I) c, and short horizontal arms F, beveled on their upper face at each end, beams E, beveled on their under sides to receive the beveled ends of the arms F, inverted-V-shaped wooden knees D, having strips ofunforged band-iron d, e, f, and g, the strips 6, having horizontal feet and runners G, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ALBERT CHAPMAN. \Vitnesses CHAS. L. Goss, ISAAC Sorrmr. 

